


Of Mandrakes Leaves and Best of Friends

by Paradise_of_Mary_Jane



Series: Tales of Becoming Animagi [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bromance, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Marauders' Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2015-06-12
Packaged: 2018-04-04 01:42:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4121587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paradise_of_Mary_Jane/pseuds/Paradise_of_Mary_Jane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James stared at the three leaves lying innocently on the table. He looked at Sirius. He looked at Peter. He looked back to the leaves. He didn't want to say it. He didn't want to be the one who asked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Mandrakes Leaves and Best of Friends

James stared at the three leaves lying innocently on the table. He looked at Sirius. He looked at Peter. He looked back to the leaves. He didn't want to say it. He didn't want to be the one who asked.

"Are we really going to do this James?" Peter piped up and there it was.

"The book says we have to," he sighed.

"Have to, as in really-without-a-doubt-have-to or have-to-but-not-really-have-to?"

"The first one Sirius," though if you asked any of the three boys they would have sorely preferred the second.

Sirius shrugged with and picked up one leaf with a pained look on his face. James followed in a heartbeat and Peter hesitated slightly before taking his own Mandrake leaf.

"For Remus," said James raising the leaf.

"For Remus," said the other two mimicking James.

Then with only a slight bit of hesitation the three of them put the Mandrake leaves in their mouths.

* * *

"We are going to regret this," groaned Sirius his voice slightly muffled by the leaf in his mouth. It had been an hour and the boys were just now beginning to get used to the Mandrake leaf's horrible taste.

"I already regret it," said Peter mournfully from his bed.

James whose bed was right next to Sirius' cuffed the taller boy lightly over the head. Or maybe not so lightly.

"It was your idea to become animagi in the first place," James reminded him.

"Doesn't mean I can't regret it in the deep recesses of my mind," retorted Sirius.

"Guys are you sure this isn't poisoned?" asked Peter and the other two boys hesitated slightly.

"Well the book said to put it in our mouth—"

"And most animagi used that book to become animagi—"

"they haven't died or anything—"

"but the book wasn't so clear on whether—"

"it has horrible side effects or not," finished James sounding rather pathetic.

Peter buried his head under the pillow and gave a very loud but muffled groan.

"I hate you"

* * *

James seated himself at the Great Hall excitedly. He was hungry and looking forward to washing out the taste of the Mandrake leaf in his ... oh...

He motioned for Sirius and Peter to follow him under the table. The three of them slipped down easily and no one around them really batted an eyelash, too use to strange behavior coming from the four of them.

"How are we going to eat," asked James in an urgent whisper.

Sirius and Peter stared at James. James stared at Sirius and Peter.

Sirius cursed under his breath.

"We did not think this through did we?" he asked an amused smile on his face. James felt the sudden urge to strangle the boy and Peter wasn't too far behind.

"What do we do?" asked Peter.

"We could put the leaf on the side of our mouth and eat really really carefully," suggested Sirius.

"And when we're sleeping?" asked James "how do we not accidentally swallow these things."

"Maybe we really are supposed to swallow them," said Peter hopefully but James shook his head. Damn him.

"No it said keep the leaf in the mouth," he said regretfully and again Damn him.

"Damn," said Sirius out loud and Peter found himself agreeing wholeheartedly.

* * *

"Hello Remus!"

"How do you feel?" asked James in what was certainly not a worried tone.

"Just fine," said Remus looking down. "A bit sore but it wasn't that bad."

The boys glanced at Remus pale face and the new scars on his face, and said nothing.

The silence lasted for a moment, then two...

"Alright what did you do?" said Remus looking at the three other boys suspiciously.

James gave him an indignant look, "why do you assume we did anything."

Remus raised an eyebrow from his bed in the hospital wing "because you three always cause trouble when I'm gone."

Sirius looked at James "he's got you there mate," he told him.

James glared halfheartedly and punched him not so halfheartedly in the arm.

"Whose side are you on?"

* * *

"What are you boys up to?" Professor McGonagall asked them one day in the Common Room, with her eyebrow raised.

"Up to?" asked James, struggling to keep himself from appearing guilty. "I've no idea what you mean Professor."

"We're just studying and being good students that's all," said Sirius. The three of them were trying to ignore the fact that their voices were slightly muffled by the leaves in their mouths.

"Is that so?"

"Of course Professor," piped up Peter.

"And your voices are muffled because?" James most certainly did not wince at that question. Nope. Definitely not.

"It's an experiment Professor," said Sirius calmly.

Mcgonagall's eyebrow climbed higher.

"An experiment?" she repeated, not sounding in the least believing.

"Yes."

"Fine," said Professor McGonagall with a long suffering sigh. "Continue your...experiment but keep out of trouble."

"Of course we will Professor, you know us," said James with a grin and an internal sigh of relief.

* * *

It only took about five days since they put the leaves in their mouth before the three boys were ready to strangle themselves just to get that bloody awful taste out of their mouth.

"I'm not gonna survive," moaned Peter while Remus was away on his library excursions and the other two boys shared very similar sentiments.

"How long has it been anyway?" asked Sirius, dangling his head from the bed upside down in a desperate effort to get rid of the taste that was something between dirty socks and boogey flavored Bertie Bott bean. It had no effect whatsoever.

"Five days," said Peter sounding awfully pitiful.

James attempted to put on a brave face.

"This is for Remus guys, we'll just have to brave through it," he said bravely and looking an awful lot like he was making a speech to battle-wearied soldiers.

"For Remus," intoned the other two boys and somehow the leaves didn't taste as bad.

* * *

Remus gave a loud sigh and dropped his book.

"Alright what are you three doing?" he asked looking at all of them suspiciously.

"Doing?" said James definitely not feeling nervous that Remus may have caught on. It had been nearly two weeks after all. "We're not doing anything at the moment, just sitting. Guys?"

Sirius didn't even look up from his charms homework. "I'm doing my charms homework," he said shortly not looking the least bit nervous or shifty and James couldn't help but feel it was terribly unfair.

"No," said Remus rolling his eyes, "why are you all talking weird and keep making these awful pained faces when you think I'm not looking?"

The three boys stared at him, even Sirius looked up from his Charms homework.

"W-w-well" began Peter pathetically.

"A prank!" interjected Sirius suddenly and James internally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes!" he agreed. "It's a super secret prank on the Slytherins."

"We're scaring them," whispered Sirius conspiratorially.

Remus was beginning to blink at them quite like an owl. "A prank" he said slowly.

"It's working!" said Peter triumphantly.

"We're scaring you too!"

Remus closed his eyes for one second, two seconds, three seconds. He gave a sigh and went back to reading.

* * *

Professor McGonagall was looking at them suspiciously. The three boys did their best not to seem suspicious.

"What are you boys doing?" she asked, giving each one of them a tiny glare.

"We were walking to the library Professor," supplied James and thanking whatever gods out there that his voice did not sound muffled by the leaf.

"Well I suggest you three move along then," said Professor McGonagall and the three boys nodded.

Once she was out of sight they breathed a sigh of relief.

"You know it's a wonder McGonagall hasn't caught us yet," commented Sirius.

"Well don't pray for it," said Peter sounding miffed and James agreed wholeheartedly.

"Just three days left mates," he said. The other two nodded before they entered the library to attempt to steal the book on animagi.

* * *

A month.

A month had finally passed. The three boys thought they might pass out from the joy of it all. They spat out the God awful leaves from their mouths with wide grins on their faces.

"What's next James," asked Peter practically jumping from giddiness as James consulted the book. He looked up at the other two boys with an expression between graved and pained. The smiles melted of their faces.

"For Remus," said Sirius.

"For Remus," agreed James and Peter.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on [tumblr](http://pdfcct.tumblr.com/)! Come say hi :)


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